


Rewind

by noxide



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Oneshot, also tracer's age makes no sense to me i swear, prompt was character meeting their past self
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-05
Updated: 2016-10-05
Packaged: 2018-08-19 16:01:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8215811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/noxide/pseuds/noxide
Summary: The second Morrison greeted her with a smile was the second that Tracer realized something was very, very wrong.





	

The second Morrison greeted her with a smile was the second that Tracer realized something was very, _very_ wrong.

“Cheers, captain!” She returned the smile and gave a salute, though her mind was racing. By the looks of it, they were in the Overwatch HQ before - well, that. She had been on the battlefield moments ago - what had happened? The last thing Tracer remembered was recalling after a particularly nasty shot from that dastardly Widowmaker; so not cool! The bullet had struck straight through the chroooo... oh.

_Oh no!_

Tracer’s hands flew straight to her chronal accelerator. This was bad, this was really bad! She surveyed it with wide eyes. No visible bullet holes or any other damage that she could feel for, but...

The flickering light was, most likely, _not_ a good sign.

Tracer's mind kicked into overdrive. Just how far had she been sent back? Could she still blink around with her accelerator broken like this? Would Winston be able to fix it? (Okay, maybe that one she didn’t have to worry about as much.) Most importantly, could she even get back to the present? The farthest back she had ever recalled was only a few seconds, and she had never really gone _forwards--_

“Tracer, what’s wrong?”

... Oh, goodness! Morrison was still standing there, wasn’t he?

Tracer brought her hands down quickly; perhaps a little too quickly. Her grin was sheepish. “O-oh, it’s nothing to worry about, love! Chronal accelerator seems to be acting up a tad, you know how it is. I’ll have Winston look at it in a jiffy!” Tracer let out a nervous giggle. Gosh, she hoped it sounded natural!

Jack, to his credit, didn’t press the issue further. “Well, if you say so.” Worry still bled into his tone, but at least his brow wasn’t all furrowed anymore. He gave Tracer a gentle pat on the shoulder as he walked off. “Get that looked at soon, alright?”

Tracer grinned, real this time. “Yessir!” she chimed. Whew! A bullet dodged, score one to her! At least it looked like she was in a point of time where she had already gotten her accelerator and people were used to it. That was good; it would make things loads easier!

Now, what to do?

Well, Tracer supposed it’d be best to first find Winston. He’d fix her up good as new, she was sure of it! Then maybe she could tell him about the future of Overwatch; things didn’t seem all tense in the world just yet. Maybe she wouldn’t try to get back to the present immediately. Maybe this time around, they could solve the problems together before it was too late!

Oh, she was getting excited just thinking about it! Imagine: a future where Overwatch still stood together, tall and proud! If she could pull this off, if she could really convince the others to make a change? Why, she might just forgive Widowmaker a teensy bit for putting her in this situation in the first place!

With a newfound spring in her step, Tracer skipped towards where Winston’s quarters were - or at least, where she remembered them being. At least the prior battle hadn’t scratched her up all that badly; she was sure Morrison would’ve questioned her far more had it done so, perhaps even sending her to Doctor Ziegler. That sure would’ve been inconvenient! Not that Mercy hadn’t saved her bum more than once; that staff really was quite the godsend...

Lost in her carefree musings, Tracer failed to notice the person bounding down the adjacent corridor at a near equal speed. Said person hadn’t noticed Tracer, either; at least, not until they collided into each other with a solid thump.

“Oof!” Tracer exclaimed, stumbling back a few steps. Gosh, that sure took her by surprise! Well, that’s what she got for being spaced out, she supposed. She opened her mouth to ask if the other person was ok--

And instantly snapped her mouth back shut when she realized she was staring at a mirror image of herself.

The other Tracer stared back, mouth agape and eyes just as wide.

“Woah, it's-- You’re _me!_ Is my chronal accelerator malfunctioning again?” she blinked.

Tracer’s mind stuttered. For a moment she had thought the same thing (spooky!), but if she was in the past then of course past her would be here too! Duhhh! How had she not thought of this before?

“Not yours,” Tracer regained composure and smiled to her younger self, “but I’m afraid mine is.” She gestured to her still-flickering accelerator. “I’m from quite a few years in the future and it looks like I’ve been sent back here!”

Past-Tracer’s eyes grew wider, saucer-like and cartoonish. A childish grin split her face; she had completely lit up. “Woahhh! Really? That’s _wicked!_ What year are you from? Are there any new members? Have I met any new friends?” She bounced on her heels, hope in her smile. The rest of Tracer’s words caught up with her, though, and she faltered. 

Concern overwrote the excitement. “Oh, but I should get you to Winston first! You look hurt and we’ve got to get your chronal accelerator fixed up asap!”

A wistful mood was cast over Tracer as she let her past self drag her along. Her smile grew softer. “Thanks, love.” A pause, to collect her words. “I’m from 2076. What year are we in now?”

“2036! Wow, I haven’t aged a day!” A giggle. “That’s amazing!”

Tracer blinked, realizing her past self was right. It was enough to get her to laugh, herself. Wasn’t that just the oddest thing? 40 years had passed, but she hadn’t changed at all!  
Anyways, moving on!

“You’re right on that! New members have joined, though, well...” Tracer’s smile slipped just the slightest bit. 2036. Overwatch was still in it’s prime. Could she really bring herself to tell her past self of its fall?

... Oh, what was she thinking? There’s no time for doubts! She’d learn either way, right? Better to see if she could make a change now.

Tracer stopped walking, prompting past-Tracer to look back and tilt her head. She smiled apologetically. Winston would have to wait, just for a bit.

Time was ticking.

She only hoped her chronal accelerator would hold out.

“Actually, Overwatch isn’t really a thing a thing anymore.”

The emotions flying on her past-self’s face made Tracer wince. Oh, if only she didn’t have to be the bringer of bad news! Poor her, she looked so confused!

Past-Tracer could feel her stomach drop. Surely this was a lie! She just couldn’t understand... how could Overwatch just _stop_ existing? What would cause something so awful to happen? She grabbed her future self by the shoulders, eyes searching desperately for answers.

“Not a thing? But _how!?_ What do you mean? What _happened?_ ” Her voice sounded weak, even to herself.

Boy, the walls sure looked interesting right about now! Tracer took a hesitant breath. “About that,” she began, looking her past-self in the eye. “There was an explosion! The building didn’t survive, and publicity was quite bad at the time, and people thought it would be better to leave! ... I think?” she rushed out. Her voice had gotten just as meek towards the end.

Past-Tracer was only more confused. “But why would we all leave after an explosion? It sounds bad but I’m sure we can all work together to rebuild!”

Ouch. She _really_ didn’t want to add in the details, but... “I hate to say it, love, but the building wasn’t the only casualty. Commander Morrison, Captain Reyes, Lieutenant Amari...” Her voice cracked and faded. Tears were starting to well up.

Tracer didn’t have to continue, anyways. Past-her loosened her grip, stepping away. She covered her mouth with a hand.

“No, no, no!” she gasped, the picture of mortification. Who? Who could’ve done such an awful thing!? _Why!?_

Maybe revealing the future hadn’t been the best idea after all. Tracer’s eyes were downcast. No being able to rewind time now.

“I know,” she offered gently. “It’s awful, isn’t it? Things get quite tense in the future. But that’s why I told you! I think if you - _we_ \- can spread what I know now, we might be able to find a way around it all. We can change things for the better.” She held out a hand, tilting her head with a questioning smile on her face.

“What do you say, love? Think we can do this?”

Past-Tracer stared at the outstretched hand, mouth open. It took her only a moment of contemplation to come to her decision. She shook her future self’s hand firmly, a hardened light of determination fresh in her eyes and smile.

“Of course!”

Tracer’s heart soared. It’d be quite a lot of hard work, but perhaps this time, things really would be different.

Things would be set right.

**Author's Note:**

> ooh boy, first fic i've ever written in years. tracer is similar to a character i used to RP, so felt like exploring her a bit.


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